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. 2023 Jun 29;13(13):2150.
doi: 10.3390/ani13132150.

Conversation Analysis of Clients' Active Resistance to Veterinarians' Proposals for Long-Term Dietary Change in Companion Animal Practice in Ontario, Canada

Clare MacMartin  1 , Hannah Wheat  2 , Jason B Coe  3
Affiliations

Conversation Analysis of Clients' Active Resistance to Veterinarians' Proposals for Long-Term Dietary Change in Companion Animal Practice in Ontario, Canada

Clare MacMartin et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

The impact of nutrition on animal health requires effective diet-related treatment recommendations in veterinary medicine. Despite low reported rates of veterinary clients' adherence with dietary recommendations, little is known about how clients' resistance to nutritional proposals is managed in the talk of veterinary consultations. This conversation-analytic study investigated clients' active resistance to veterinarians' proposals for long-term changes to cats' and dogs' diets in 23 segments from 21 videotaped appointments in Ontario, Canada. Clients' accounts suggested the proposals themselves or nutritional modifications were unnecessary, inappropriate, or unfeasible, most often based on patients' food preferences, multi-pet feeding issues, current use of equivalent strategies, or current enactment of the proposed changes. Resistance arose when veterinarians constructed proposals without first gathering relevant diet- and patient-related information, soliciting clients' perspectives, or educating them about the benefits of recommended changes. Veterinarians subsequently accommodated clients' concerns more often when resistance involved patient- or client-related issues rather than clients' lack of medical knowledge. The design of subsequent proposals accepted by clients frequently replaced dietary changes in the initial proposals with nutritional or non-nutritional alternatives and oriented to uncertainty about adherence. This study provides evidence-based findings for developing effective communication training and practice guidelines in nutritional assessment and shared decision-making.

Keywords: adherence; communication; compliance; conversation analysis; decision-making; nutrition; qualitative analysis; treatment recommendations; veterinary education.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. Royal Canin’s financial support provided for the salary of H.W. but the funder was not involved in the study design, analysis, writing, or decision to publish. J.B.C. regularly receives research funding, consults for, and receives honoraria from various veterinary organizations and commercial companies, including Royal Canin, Nestle Purina, the Purina Institute, and Hill’s. J.B.C. currently holds the VCA Canada Chair in Relationship-Centred Veterinary Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Data preparation, preliminary analyses and development of final collection of cases of active client resistance to veterinarians’ proposals for long-term dietary change.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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